


i don't wanna be your friend || She-Ra Royalty AU

by Siwar_Cat



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Royalty, And so is Adora, Catra (She-Ra) Acts Like a Cat, Catra is Bad at Feelings (She-Ra), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Everyone is a princess, F/F, Fluff, How Do I Tag, I know wayyyy to much about royalty now, Maybe - Freeform, No Idea, Princess Adora (She-Ra), Princess Catra (She-Ra), Slow Burn, catradora, please help, probably, the amount of research that went into this, um
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28823643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siwar_Cat/pseuds/Siwar_Cat
Summary: Princess Adora of Grayskull never got along with her fellow princess, Catra. When the two are a few months away from taking their respective thrones, something must be done to establish a decent relationship between them, or the futures of Grayskull and the Fright Zone may be put in jeopardy.Thank you to ruby_tucker (janisarkisian on tumblr) for helping me come up with ideas!
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 30





	i don't wanna be your friend || She-Ra Royalty AU

"Your highness, the guests will be arriving soon." 

Adora got up from her desk and turned to face her lady-in-waiting. "Oh, sorry, Lonnie. I lost track of time." She placed a bookmark in her book,  _ Etherian Cultural Customs Across the Kingdoms _ . Her governess, Light Hope, had told her to read up until chapter five, but she had gotten carried away and was now in the middle of chapter seven. "And I told you before, you can just call me Adora."

Lonnie had recently moved from the Fright Zone, where she had been forced to work as a Horde servant. After the Horde had been driven out, the Fright Zone citizens saw her as a traitor, so she had come to Grayskull in an attempt to start a new life. After her former lady-in-waiting resigned, Lonnie, among many other young ladies, applied and was interviewed by Adora. It seemed that Lonnie was still a bit surprised at the lack of harshness and formality that came with being on their staff.

Adora allowed Lonnie to dress her in a simple white and gold knee-length dress with a halter-strap neckline. Then, she sat at her vanity while Lonnie pulled her hair up into a ponytail, making sure to give her a little poof at the front, and applied some light blush and mascara. 

Lonnie escorted Adora down to the Crystal Castle's vestibule, where her aunt, Princess Regent Mara, was waiting, sporting a light blue off-the-shoulder dress. Mara took on the role of Princess Regent when Adora's mother, Queen Marlena, had died in childbirth seventeen years ago. She would rule Grayskull in Adora's place until Adora turned eighteen and took the throne.

Mara greeted her with a kiss on each cheek. "Where have you been all day?" She asked.

"Studying."

"Ugh, has Light Hope been dumping work on you now that the summer holidays are coming up? She used to do that with me."

Adora chuckled and nodded. "Five chapters of  _ Etherian Cultural Customs  _ in one night."

"Oh, you poor child."

The two shared a laugh and stepped out into the courtyard just as the first carriage pulled up.

Queen Angella of Bright Moon stepped out first, elegant as ever in her floor-length lavender dress. Next came her daughter, Princess Glimmer, one of Adora's close friends. Her outfit was similar to her mother's, though knee-length and more suited to a girl of her age.

Glimmer and Adora shared a hug while Angella and Mara greeted each other.

"Do you know who else is coming?" Glimmer asked Adora.

"I'm pretty sure it's just gonna be us and King Hordak. Plus his advisor." Adora said.

Glimmer brought a hand to her mouth. "Wait, have you heard the news!?" She almost yelled.

"What news?" Adora never really was one for gossip.

"Hordak's  _ actually _ abdicating."

Adora's jaw dropped. " _ No way _ . So soon?"

Three years ago, when the Fright Zone had established a new monarchy after beating the Horde. The king, Hordak, had been planning on abdicating since the previous year, but since he had no heir, he had declared his former apprentice, Catra, the princess of the Fright Zone. Once he abdicated, she would be crowned Queen.

"I know, I was shocked too! Do you think he'll bring Princess Catra to the dinner tonight?"

" _ Ugh _ , if that's the case, then probably." Adora groaned.

"What do you have against Catra?"

"I don't know. She's just so…  _ rude _ ! She think she's better than everyone else because she was  _ hand-picked _ for the role and "actually qualifies," or whatever."

"I really don't think it's that deep. That's kinda just how Catra is." Glimmer giggled.

"Well, she hates me, anyway."

"Shush! I think that's her carriage."

The two turned as the carriage pulled up, catching a glimpse of the three occupants sitting inside, King Hordak, Princess Catra, and Shadow Weaver, the king's advisor. Adora supposed that the proper term would be  _ Lady _ Shadow Weaver, but it just didn't feel…  _ right _ .

Their footman, who was named Kyle, opened one of the side-doors for them. One by one, they stepped out. Hordak was dressed in black robes, while Shadow Weaver wore red, along with a black veil that hid her face, Adora had heard rumours that she was horribly disfigured underneath it, but that's all they were. Rumours.

Catra, who had come out last, was dressed in a maroon suit and black dress shirt, completing the evil trio look the three had going on.

Mara went to welcome them, then a servant came to escort them to the dining hall, where the dinner table had already been set. Mara, as the ruling power of Grayskull, sat at the head of the table. Everyone else took their designated seats. To her right sat Queen Angella, and on her left was King Hordak. Next to Hordak was Shadow Weaver, then Catra. Glimmer sat between her mother and Adora. There was a considerable gap between the seats the adults had taken and the seats given to the teenagers.

"So, Catra, are the rumours true? About the abdication?" Glimmer asked, wary of keeping her voice down, so Hordak didn't hear and take offence. 

Catra, who hadn't uttered a word until the moment, tilted her head to the side, studying Glimmer. "Yes." She said slowly. "I am to be coronated Queen of the Fright Zone two months after my eighteenth birthday."

Glimmer practically gasped. "That's  _ awesome _ . Are you excited?!"

Catra shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"So, you're seventeen, right? So your coronation will be like, next year? Ooh, Adora's being crowned around that time too!" Glimmer nudged her friend.

"Nice." That was all Catra said.

Luckily, Catra was saved from sitting through Glimmer bombarding her with questions and gossip by the servants arriving with their food.

"Ooh, these look good." Glimmer said, picking up a piece of smoked shrimp.

Catra sighed, picking at her food. 

"You okay?" Asked Glimmer.

Catra scowled in response. "I would much rather be home, but I guess I'll survive."

Adora glowered at the other girl. She hadn't even  _ bothered _ to pretend like she was having fun!

"So, uh…" Glimmer, bless her heart, attempted to keep a conversation going. Their plates had been taken away, at that point, and replaced with bowls of gazpacho soup. "Do you guys have any plans coming up?"

Catra shrugged. Over at the other half of the table, Mara and Angella had started laughing. About what, Adora did not know. Hordak's mouth twitched upward, almost somewhat resembling a smile. Shadow Weaver remained neutral, eating by bringing her spoon under her veil and to her mouth.

"How about you, Adora?"

Adora looked up from her soup. "Hm?"

"Any plans happening?"

"Oh, nothing much. Madame Razz is coming this weekend to visit for a while. And you?"

" _ Madame Razz _ ? Ooh, can I come over while she's here? She makes the  _ best _ pie!"

"Oh, yeah. Sure."

"Who's Madame Razz?" Asked Catra, finally showing some interest in their conversation. Madame was a name customarily used for nobility on Etheria, but Catra had never heard of her.

"One of my very distant relatives. Great-great aunt, I think. There may be more "great" 's, though."

"Sheesh. Is she immortal, or something?" A genuine question, seeing as the immortal Queen Angella was seated at the same table as them.

"Perhaps." And that was the end of their conversation.

Their plates were taken away again. 

"How many courses is this thing again? A hundred?" Catra complained when the salads were placed in front of them, mindful of her volume. Offending Princess Mara would not go down well.

"It's only  _ five.  _ The next one should be the main one."

"Five? I will never understand why you  _ royals _ feel the need to eat so much." She spoke the word "royals" as though it were a derogatory term. 

Adora huffed. Catra seemed to be forgetting that she was talking to the niece of the hostess.

They fell back into silence, and it remained that way until the next course, where they were served baked chicken breast stuffed with potatoes.

"My god, and we still have dessert after this?" This time, Catra's comment was ignored.

Instead of having dessert where they were, the group moved to one of the parlours. Everyone took a seat, and tea was poured, a plate of scones was passed around.

The adults launched a discussion about Dryl's latest invention — an updated tracker-pad — and trade agreements. Adora, Glimmer, and Catra were forced to listen as they sipped their tea. Catra was not only slouching but also sipping her tea at an obnoxiously loud volume, which made Adora want to strangle her.

Mara cleared her throat. "Why don't you three girls go and spend some time together somewhere else once you're done?"

"That sounds great! Let's go!" Glimmer dragged Adora and Catra out of the room before Adora had the chance to murder Catra.

"You two do realize that you can't keep your pretty grudges against each other once you get coronated, right?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Catra said, her voice almost dropping a full octave.

"See what I mean?" Adora whispered to Glimmer. "She's  _ horrible _ ."

"She's really not that bad." Glimmer whispered back.

"You do realize I can hear you, right?" Catra gestured towards her ears. "Magicat. Remember?" She walked past the duo and stared right at Adora. "And, in case you were wondering, the feeling is mutual."

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Glimmer and Angella had left an hour before, so why was Catra still there?

Mara had told her that there was something important she wanted to discuss with Hordak, which left her and Catra together. Alone.

It wasn't  _ too _ bad. They were both in the library, Adora studying for a test, and Catra reading some book she had found. Finally,  _ finally _ , after an eternity, Mara came in.

"Am I going home?" Asked Catra, a little too eager.

"Actually, it seemed this meeting lasted a little longer than expected. It's too late in the night for you to go back to the Fright Zone. It will be dangerous, especially with talk of Horde soldiers being spotted."

"So I'm staying here?"

"Oh, well it's not  _ that _ bad! You can sleep in the guest wing. Oh, actually, this is the perfect opportunity for you and Adora to get to know each other! Adora can stay with you, if you'd like her to. It'll be like a sleepover!" Adora watched the five stages of grief play out on Catra’s face as Mara left. It was comical, and Adora would have laughed if she, too, wasn't horrified.

"A sleepover?" Catra groaned.

"Horde sightings!?" Adora exclaimed in panic.

"You didn't hear? There've been soldier sightings for  _ months _ , now." 

" _ What _ !?"

"Of course, you're surprised. You  _ princesses _ don't care about your kingdoms, your people! All you care about is your stupid little life of luxury and your dumb "society friends." Grayskull will be  _ doomed _ once you take the throne."

Adora's jaw dropped. She wasn't quite sure if she was shocked or just downright offended. Probably both.

Catra shot her a scowl and left the library, probably to find a servant to escort her to the guest wing. 

Adora put away her stuff and headed to her room, where Lonnie already was.

"Back so soon?" Lonnie asked, getting Adora's nightclothes ready. "I thought you'd be spending time with Catra."

"Catra and I don't exactly… get along."

"How come?"

Adora shrugged. "We just… don't."

"That may become an issue when you two are coronated."

"So I've been told."

"I apologize. Have I stepped out of line?"

"No. Your concerns are completely understandable, and you don't have to talk so formally. I've told you before. Forget that I'm your boss and princess. I'm your friend."

Lonnie smiled at her. "Thanks."

Adora smiled back, starting to change out of her clothes.

"Hey, maybe you should go check on Catra before you sleep. Maybe try to clear things up? Friend to friend advice."

"Maybe." Adora responded as Lonnie took her hair out of its ponytail and brushed it out.

"Consider it. Your life would be a lot easier if you two were friends.”

"Thank you for the advice. I'll go check on her, for the sake of the future well-being of Etheria, if nothing else."

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End file.
